Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Hey there! Just wondering, should I swing all clubs the same and only thing different is ball placement (for the most part)? As in same address, alignment, posture, backswing, downswing, etc?

Thanks

All the swings should be the same, yes. The address does change though. When you address a driver or a fairway wood, you want to have more weight on the back foot than with an iron, and you want the hands to trail a bit more than with irons. There's a great online guide here:

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

It really depends on what you mean by the "same swing." As clubs move from short to long, the swing plane should become progressively flatter. Anyone who tries to hit their driver with the same plane as their wedge is going to come to grief. I personally always think of my swing plane as going through the line created by my shoulders at address. This "automatically" adjusts the swing plane for the varying length of club. With this wing thought always ingrained in my mind, my swing does stay "the same" from club to club, although my swing plane changes.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Originally Posted by CalBoomer

It really depends on what you mean by the "same swing." As clubs move from short to long, the swing plane should become progressively flatter. Anyone who tries to hit their driver with the same plane as their wedge is going to come to grief. I personally always think of my swing plane as going through the line created by my shoulders at address. This "automatically" adjusts the swing plane for the varying length of club. With this wing thought always ingrained in my mind, my swing does stay "the same" from club to club, although my swing plane changes.

It's still the same swing, but your shoulder angle changes. This would mean a change in setup, not particularly a change in swing.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

I wouldn't say the swing is exactly the same, but its not a "different swing" either. You just need to make adjustments to fit a longer club. Your swing will be a little faster, a little longer, and have a little more lower body movement with a Driver vs. a SW. Just watch any good player. Here is a good video example.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

So, to summarize the above, yes and no.

Technically, not only is it impossible for the "swing" to be "the same" for all the clubs, but its impossible to swing exactly the same way twice in a row with the same club. (yeah this is going to be one of THOSE posts).

But aside from that obvious fact... the setup has to be different to accomodate the length of the different clubs, and the fact that your sweeping it off the tee with a driver instead of pinching it off the ground as in a short iron. The plane will have to change as mentioned. Weight distribution and other setup features will vary, either conciously or not. You will make other concious and unconcious changes. Also, the goals are somewhat different. With a driver you are aiming much further out and the target is more of an area, i.e. the fairway, or a part of the fairway, and often a few yards further or less isn't an issue, with a few yards longer usually being preferable (so you might, in general, in your driver swing, be more focused onn length as mentioned in prior posts). With a short iron it will be a more focused area, like the middle of the green, or the front of the green, and usually with a very specific yardage. Those things will translate into a different kind of swing.

But, all that being said, you really want to have the same swing in all the clubs.

That makes no logical sense, and is completely contradictory, but it's true.

And not only that, but "having the same swing" is what makes for consistency and lower scores.

This is stuff that obviously takes time to come to grips with.

I always feel like I need to "get used to" the way a club feels before I hit it.. the length of the club, where I'm putting the ball, and many other details. That's what the pre shot routine is for.

Another confusing one is having the same preshot routine for all shots. Same facts apply as above.. there's no way it can be exactly the same for every kind of shot but you should endeavor to make it the same, if you want to play the best golf possible.

At the end of the day what you want do ideally is to not think at all about routine, setup, and swing, and just focus on the target-- the swing and the preparation all take care of themselves. When you do this I guarantee you that you'll be playing really good golf.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

I personally have two different swings based on irons/woods. The woods swing is so much flatter that I have difficulty getting on plane, so I concentrate solely on getting the club flat. This means I take the club back inside, probably further then I should, but results are pretty good lately. I guess I'm trying to achieve a one plane swing.

All of my irons and hybrids are the same swing basically, I concentrate on taking it back down the line, good hinging as the club comes to the top of the backswing, and dropping it in the slot with good tempo. When I tried my "wood" swing with hybrids I had horrible results. I don't know if what I do is right or wrong, but it's the only thing I've been able to make work so far.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Well, I went for my first lesson today and I asked the instructor about it. He said that the arm position is the same, the only thing different is width of stance and weight setup when switching from irons to driver, due to driver you wanting to hit on the upswing. Something in that general area.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Originally Posted by RWHJR3

Well, I went for my first lesson today and I asked the instructor about it. He said that the arm position is the same, the only thing different is width of stance and weight setup when switching from irons to driver, due to driver you wanting to hit on the upswing. Something in that general area.

You should be able to take a club, without seeing what it is, just feeling the length, and setting up to a comfortable distance, and swing and hit it. I play with a guy (now a 5 handicap in his late 60s, was scratch most of his life) who goes out to the range, takes about 5 clubs from the bag, a SW, 7i, 4i, 3w, and D. He puts a ball down, picks up a club, and starts his routine. He hits them all with the same swing, but a different setup. This is how you do it.

And sorry to correct laquintaboy again, but you do NOT swing harder with a longer club. This is absolutely false. They have longer shafts and less loft, they are made to go farther. Swinging harder is a surefire way to lose distance on a long iron.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Originally Posted by RWHJR3

Well, I went for my first lesson today and I asked the instructor about it. He said that the arm position is the same, the only thing different is width of stance and weight setup when switching from irons to driver, due to driver you wanting to hit on the upswing. Something in that general area.

Pretty much spot on.

If you ever see someone with really good mechanics on the trackman you'll see their driver is more or less level (sometimes slightly down or up) at impact.

As you move more and more towards the wedges you are swinging more and more vertically down on the ball.

All the mechanical parts are very much the same though. Some people will be slightly more or less stacked on their lead leg depending on the club they are using.

Re: Same swing for all clubs (Driver-Wedges)?

Originally Posted by Shanks A Million

You should be able to take a club, without seeing what it is, just feeling the length, and setting up to a comfortable distance, and swing and hit it. I play with a guy (now a 5 handicap in his late 60s, was scratch most of his life) who goes out to the range, takes about 5 clubs from the bag, a SW, 7i, 4i, 3w, and D. He puts a ball down, picks up a club, and starts his routine. He hits them all with the same swing, but a different setup. This is how you do it.

Nice. Nicklaus described a similar drill in his books. That must be how you do it. I should do that.